The follow-up to the Beach Boys Sounds of Summer shows they had plenty of A+ material that didn't make the first collection. The hits may not be as obvious, but with great summery songs like Catch a Wave, It's Ok, All Summer Long and beautiful ballads like The Warmth of the Sun, Disney Girls and Forever, there's not a weak song in the bunch. And, like the first collection, many of the songs are freshly remixed and remastered, so they sound better than ever. Capitol loves to keep rehashing the same songs on hits compilations, but at least with Sounds of Summer and Warmth of the Sun they've put in some time and effort, and even had the input of the surviving members on song selection. If you've already purchased Sounds of Summer and are looking for some more Beach Boys for the collection, it's a very worthwhile purchase, but just make sure you get Pet Sounds somewhere along the line.

At first glance, Chris De Burgh Gold certainly appears to cover all the bases; 37 songs representing all his hits from the 70's to the 90's. However, looking a little closer, the song selection is a little unusual; the big hits Lady In Red, Don't Pay The Ferryman, and Missing You are here, as are 70's classics Spanish Train, Patricia The Stripper and Crusader, but there's a fair number of non-hit album tracks included. Since De Burgh didn't really have 37 hit songs in North America (although he's had many more than that internationally), including some album tracks could be understandable, but placing 9 songs from his '86 album Into The Light into the collection is a bit much. Also, while the set covers music to 1995(leaving out the numerous albums he's released since then), it oddly excludes music from his early 90's albums, so there's no Separate Tables or This Is Love. And including an 80's re-recording of the Christmas ballad A Spaceman Came Travelling, while better produced and less-dated sounding than the 70's original, is surprising, especially since the liner notes list it as the 1975 version. Finally, the sequencing seems a little lazy; most of the hits are put on disc 1, leaving the second disc to be loaded with less familiar tracks that the casual listener might become bored with (also to the compilers of this, Borderline really should have been sequenced before its sequel Say Goodbye To It All, as it usually is on other collections).

That being said, the collection is still very good since there's not a bad song here, album songs included. If anything, this works as a good update to the '89 Spark To A Flame hits album, since it has the majority of songs from that collection plus many more, remastered and the price is quite reasonable for a 2 cd set. Those looking for a more comprehensive set should check out his 2005 Ultimate Collection, since that covers his career into the 2000's, although it's only available as an import. An interesting bit of trivia; the song For Rosanna was written for his then baby daughter, who went on to become Miss World in 2003.

Bon Jovi's latest album isn't the radical change of sound some have claimed; it's really more a small step in a different direction. The band have incorporated a country sound in some of their songs for years now, as songs like Someday I'll Be Saturday Night, Something For The Pain and even Blaze of Glory don't sound far removed from the music on country radio today, but after Who Says You Can't Go Home hit big on the country (and pop) charts last year, the band decided to base a whole album on that sound. However they don't go as far into that direction as you might think, as most of the album sounds like typical latter-day Bon Jovi; belonging more on rock radio (or at least soft-rock) than country. Even their collaboration with Big & Rich, We Got It Going On, sounds more like a remake of It's My Life, complete with Sambora's vocoder. In fact, with the exception of the occasional steel guitar, fiddle or accordion playing in the background, there isn't much difference between this album and any of their other albums from the last decade. That being said, there are some great songs on the album; Make a Memory is easily one of their best ballads; Lost Highway, Summertime and I Love This Town are the usual big car-driving, sing-alongs you'd expect from them, while the mid-tempo Whole Lot Of Leavin' demonstrates the best use of steel guitar in a Bon Jovi song. The album starts to run out of steam towards the end, as the songs become more forgettable; but overall if you've liked the music Bon Jovi's put out in the last decade or so, you should like this album as well.

There are plenty of Roy Orbison collections available, but 2006's The Very Best Of Roy Orbison (not to be confused with Virgin's 1997 cd with the same title) does the best job (so far) of presenting the man's long and varied career on a single disc. Covering music from the 50's to the 80's over 24 songs, there are some pretty amazing songs on here; rockers Oh Pretty Woman, You Got It, Dream Baby and ballads Only The Lonely, Crying and In Dreams sound just as good today as they did decades ago when they were recorded.

Since this is one of the few collections to combine music from the different record labels he recorded for on one disc, there's bound to be a few classics missing (Mean Woman Blues, Candy Man, Leah are probably the most obvious ones). There are also a couple of 1980's re-recordings on the disc, but they actually make sense to be included, as one (In Dreams) was redone for the 1987 movie Blue Velvet, and the other (Claudette, originally an Orbison-written hit for the Everly Brothers) sounds better in its pumped-up, rockier 80's version. Although the original classic Crying is on here, it's a shame the compliers didn't also include the beautiful 1987 duet remake with k.d. Lang.

There's some rarely heard numbers here that are nice inclusions: Unchained Melody nearly outdoes the Righteous Brothers version; A Love So Beautiful showed he could still write and sing those huge operatic ballads right till the end; and the perfect vocal blending with Emmylou Harris on That Lovin' You Feelin' Again makes you wish the guy had recorded more often with her.

Those looking for a more comprehensive collection focusing on Orbison's prime 60's material should probably look elsewhere, such as the two-disc compilations The Essential Roy Orbison or 50 All-Time Greatest Hits, or the single-disc For The Lonely: 18 Greatest Hits. But for a one-disc career overview, despite a few omissions, this is a great cd that showcases one of the best singers of all time, nicely remastered with some pretty good liner notes, and definitely one for the collection.

It's not necessarily his 16 best songs, but these are arguably his 16 best-known ones. A casual Neil Young listener myself, I found this collection to be a decent, no-frills sampler of his career, similar in scope to the Bachman-Cummings Songbook cd by touching on various solo & group work. It does focus on his prime 70's period, so don't expect any 80's electronica experiments or 90's Pearl Jam collaborations here (the 80's & 90's are represented by only one song each), just the great standards heard every day on classic rock radio. The sound is nicely remastered, and although it does miss many of his classics, it is a pretty good starting point for those getting into the guy's catalogue. The hard-core fans probably won't need this, especially since there's not much for liner notes; though they might consider it just for the sound quality until the record company gets around to remastering "Decade," which for many is still the ultimate Neil Young compilation. Well recommended.

If you're a fan of the Trailer Park Boys TV show, you should like this movie just as well. All the characters from the show are here, although the emphasis is on Ricky, Julian & Bubbles, and their plan of pulling off "the Big Dirty," stealing coin change.

The format of the movie follows the TV show pretty closely, as the boys & the others are "interviewed" at various parts of the movie giving their angle of the events taking place, but the movie expands on the TV show by going a little further into the back-story of the characters, particularly Ricky & girlfriend Lucy's relationship. But the movie doesn't follow the show exactly; if you watch the show you'll know certain events in the movie don't quite match up with its TV counterpart (they sort of explain that in the amusing featurette by saying the boys are playing themselves in a movie, but that really just creates more questions than it answers).

There isn't really anything too different in the movie that they haven't already done in the show, although it's a bit racier and a little slower-paced, but the humour is pretty consistent and downright hilarious at times; while the Canadian references (loonies & toonies, Horton's, etc.) & all-Canadian soundtrack make the movie all the more likeable. What's good too is that the movie is self-contained, it isn't necessary to have seen the show to understand what's going on or to understand the characters, and the ending should leave everyone with a smile on their face.

Surprisingly the deleted scenes (over 20 minutes worth) are just as funny if not funnier than what is in the movie; a running gag with Bubbles worrying about a warning Mr. Lahey makes about a certain type of bird is one of the best things on the DVD. There's also a great music video on the DVD featuring "The Big Dirty Band," a Canadian "super-group" featuring members from Rush, Thornley, Three Days Grace, Die Mannequin & the Tea Party. All in all it's an excellent DVD to add to the collection.

Whether this set of 1948-1950 black-and-white serials is for you would really depend on what type of Superman fan you are. If you're an older Superman fan that originally saw and loved these serials in the theatres back in the day, you'll probably be ecstatic that this set has finally made it to DVD. But if you're part of a younger generation that maybe watches superhero movies for the big, elaborate action and special effects you'll probably be disappointed by the two serials included here, as Supes' action is mostly limited to punching the bad guys, bending the occasional bar, and letting bullets bounce off his chest, while the flying is done mainly by blending animation with live action. There are scenes where he does significantly more, but they are few and far between. Also the acting, though never bad, isn't the greatest; there is a little too much smiling from everyone, particularly from Kirk Alyn's Superman (mind you I'd probably be smiling all the time too if I was Superman), and there is a bit of repetitiveness to the serials (Lois and/or Jimmy follow the bad guys, get caught, Superman rescues them from near-death situations).

But having said all that, taken for what it is it's actually quite enjoyable, particularly if you liked the TV show from the same era. The second serial, Atom Man Vs. Superman, is the better of the two, as Superman squares off against Lex Luthor, while having some interesting sub-plots (Superman trapped in a Phantom-Zone type void, Lois Lane going to work for Luthor, Perry White concluding Clark is Superman and ordering Lois and Jimmy to write about it, etc.), and there is considerably more action than the first serial. Considering the limitations of the budget and the era the makers of the serials managed to create some interesting situations for Superman; it's easy to see why it was so popular for its time.

So again, if you're a modern day, big-budget action movie kind of person, you might find it hard to get into this set, but if you're fascinated by the Superman legend and would like to see one of the things that made the guy so darn popular in the 40's & 50's, you just might enjoy watching these classic serials.

It's good to see this under-rated band finally get a greatest-hits compilation. Even if you don't remember Frozen Ghost's songs by their titles you'll recognize the music as soon as you hear it, they were played on Canadian radio and TV quite a bit in the late 80's and early 90's. There's bright pop-rock songs (Should I See, Pauper In Paradise) and power ballads (Promises, Head Over Heels), plus probably the ultimate wedding song (Dream Come True). The only drawback is that the album merely has 12 songs, but it does have all their main hits, so it's a good choice to anyone that wants to add some first-rate Canadian music to their collection.

The Best of Sugar Ray is certainly a great set for having nearly all the group's summery pop-rock hits in one place. Starting with an unreleased song, Shot of Laughter, the tone is set for the easy-going vibe of songs like Fly, Every Morning, Someday, and the upbeat pop of Answer the Phone & the remake of Time After Time (which surprisingly works quite well in a faster tempo). The only drawback to the cd is the odd sequencing that places early punk-metal songs (Mean Machine, RPM, Rhyme Stealer) throughout the cd, which in no way fit in with the rest of the music. While it's good for a compilation to cover all parts of an acts' career, in this case it actually hurts the flow of the cd; if you prefer their later music you'll probably hit the forward button pretty quickly. Also it would have been more complete had other singles Mr. Bartender or Ours been included, but they're not essential. Otherwise, it's an excellent, fun collection, perfect for those lazy summer days or those times you just want to listen to some feel-good pop music.

Some people are calling this his comeback album, but the truth is John Mellencamp has been putting out consistently good albums for decades now. The difference this time around is that his song Our Country is getting a fair bit of recognition because of those Chevy commercials; it's a shame people only get to hear it for 30 seconds though, it's a great song that needs to heard from beginning to end. The rest of the music is pretty standard Mellencamp rock in the Pink Houses/Smalltown vein, but more political in tone and a bit more country-sounding. Surprisingly, one of the best rockers is actually an unlisted song at the end of the cd, Rodeo Clown, about a certain Texan US President. Another song, The Americans, while a good sing-along, will probably make Canadians cringe from its "I'm an American" chorus. Otherwise, if you've been a fan of Mellencamp in the past, particularly his Scarecrow/Lonesome Jubilee albums, you'll find lots to like here.